Hand protector



March 30, 1954 R. J. DU cHEN HAND PROTECTOR 2 sheets-s eet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1953 INVENTOR. W 5 \IJz((%we. BY

Y W ray/V514 March 30, 1954 R. J. DU CHENE 2,673,348

HAND PROTECTOR Filed Jan. 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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Patented Mar. 30, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAND PROTECTOR Roy J. Du Chene, Birmingham, Mich. Application January 21, 1953, Serial No. 332,192

4 Claims.

This invention relates to hand protectors and more particularly to an improved hand protector particularly adapted for use in handling metal sheets, stampings, and other articles having relatively thin or sharp edges.

Heretofore, numerous gloves and other hand protectors have been devised to protect the hands of persons handling relatively sharp articles, such as metal sheets. However, prior protectors of the indicated character are subject to the defect that they are relatively inflexible and the palm portion bulges outwardly when an article is gripped with the hand, thereby making it difficult to hold the article securely. Such prior hand protectors are also subject to the defect that the entire hand protector must be replaced when the surfaces normally sub ected to the greatest wear become worn or otherwise unserviceable. In order to prolong the life of the wearing surfaces, many prior hand protectors have reinforcing material secured to such surfaces by metal staples. The staples extend through the material forming the hand protector and the bent end portions of the staples contact the hand of the wearer. These last mentioned hand protectors are especially objectionable in that the bent end portions of the staples open and. cut or scratch thehand. of the wearer.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to overcome disadvantages inherent in hand protectors of the indicated character and to provide an improved hand protector particularly adapted to facilitate firm grasping of articles of the above mentioned type with a minimum of, effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hand protector incorporating detachable, interchangeable means for portecting and reinforcing the surfaces normally subjected to excessive wear.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hand protector incorporating an improved gripping surface that is strong, durable, flexible and long-wearing.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved hand protector that is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, efficient and which may be easily assembled with a minimum of expense.

With the above aswell as other and in certain cases more detailed objects in view, which will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a. front view of: the present inventionas assembled;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the forcing means;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 with the reinforcing means detached;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on the line 5-5 thereof; I

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on the line 6-6 thereof;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on the line 7-1 thereof; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a portion ofthe structure illustrated in Fig. 3 taken on the line 83 thereof.

Referring to the drawings, a hand covering or glove portion, generally designated I0, is provided which may be formed of any flexible material such as leather, plastic, fabric or the like. The hand covering ill is comprised of a pair of finger sheaths, generally designated ['2 and [4, having front portions l6 and I8 and back portions 20 and 22 respectively. The finger sheaths are formed by bending a suitably shaped blank of the material transversely and joining the free side and top edges by any suitable means, such as the rivets or clips 24. The finger sheath I2 is shaped to receive the index and middle fingers while the finger sheath I4 is shaped to receive the ring and little fingers. While such a construction is preferred, it will be understood that a single sheath could be provided, shaped to receive all of the fingers or individual sheaths could be provided for each of the fingers.

The inner surfaces of the back portions 20 and 22 of the finger sheaths are joined at the transdetachable reinversely extending edges thereof to the inner surface of one edge of a knuckle piece 26 by any suitable means, such as the clips 24, so as to form an outwardly projecting seam 28. An outwardly projecting tuck 3'0 is provided in the knuckle piece 26 and extends diagonally thereacross in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 6, while the other transversely extending edge portion of the knuckle piece 26 is joined to the inner edge portion of a rear gauntlet piece 32 in the manner previously described so as to form an. outwardly projecting seam 34. The rear gauntlet piece 32' is provided with a centrally disposed, outwardlyprojecting tuck 36 which extends substantially parallelv with the axes of the finger sheaths I 2 and M. The above described arrangement provides a flexible construction which is adapted tofit hands of various sizes and enablesthehand to be bent with a minimum of effort when grip- V ping an article.

It is a feature of the present invention that the palm portion of the hand covering flexes inwardly toward the palm of a hand when an article is gripped. To this end, the inner surface of the transversely extending edge portions of the front portions [6 and I8 of the finger sheaths are joined to the inner surface of one edge portion of a palm piece 38 by any suitable means, such as the clips 24, so as to form an outwardly projecting seam so. A portion of the distal edge of the palm piece 38 is fastened to a' front thumb wall 42 with an outwardly projecting seam while the other portion of the distal edge of the palm piece is secured to a front gauntlet piece 43, so as to form an outwardly projecting seam 44 and the side portions of the palm piece are secured to the side portions of the knuckle piece 26 and the rear gauntlet piece 32. An upwardly projecting tuck 45 is formed in the palm piece 38 and extends substantially parallel with the axes of the finger sheaths l2 and It.

With such a construction, the palm piece 38 flexes inwardly when an article is grasped so that the article may be held securely with a minimum of effort. Such a construction is also particularly adapted to accommodate a reinforcing pad, which will be discussed hereinafter in greater detail.

The front gauntlet piece 53 is provided with an integral longitudinally extending reduced portion 46 which forms the dorsal wall of a thumb sheath 48 and as best seen in Fig. 1, a pair of converging, outwardly projecting tucks 50 and 52 are formed in the front gauntlet section, the tucks converging to a point adjacent the upper end of the thumb sheath 48. Such a construction is flexible and enables the thumb sheath to bulge outwardly to accommodate thumbs of various sizes.

The transversely extending free edge portions of the front and rear gauntlet pieces 32 and d3 are return bent to form cuffs 54 and 55 of any desired size, the bent portions being retained in the folded position by any suitable means, such as clips 58.

It is also a feature of the present invention that a detachable reinforcing pad, generally designated 62, is provided shaped to overlie the wearing or front surfaces of the finger sheaths and palm piece of the hand protector while a flap portion 54 integral with the pad is shaped to overlie the front or wearing surface of the thumb sheath 43. The reinforcing pad is comprised of a base piece 65, formed of any suitable flexible material, such as leather, fabric, plastic or the like. As best seen in Figs. 3 and 8, a plurality of relatively short metallic lugs 58 are flexibly connected in spaced side-by-side relationship by a flexible fabric tape 69 to form elongated rows of lugs and the rows are secured to the front surface of the base section 56 by staples it. While any suitable flexibly connected, metallic lugs may be used, it is preferred to use conventional slide fastener lugs which are secured to an elongate, flexible fabric tape in spaced sideby-side relationship in the conventional manner. The rows of lugs extend around substantially the entire periphery of the base piece 66 and diagonally across the central portion of the base piece in the manner shown in Fig. 3 while a pair of spaced, curvilinear rows extend over the surface of the integral thumb flap portion 54. In order that a relatively fiat gripping surface may be presented, a plurality of non-metallic reinforcing pieces, such as 12 and 14, are provided which may be formed of leather, plastic, rubber or the like. The reinforcing pieces are of substantially the same thickness as the metallic lugs 68 and are fitted between therows of slide fastener lugs so that the rows of lugs have the appearance of being inlaid in the reinforcing pieces, the reinforcing pieces also being retained by the staples it. Such a construction is flexible and the thumb flap portion 64 may be folded so as to extend in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the portion of the reinforcing pad overlying the finger pockets, while the crotch adjacent the base of the thumb flap portion flexes toward the palm of the hand when an article is grasped. The metallic lugs 68 and the nonmetallic reinforcing pieces, such as 72 and 14. are particularly adaptedto withstand wear when sheet metal or other relatively sharp articles are grasped and the metallic lugs prevent the edges of such articles from cutting the non-metallic reinforcing pieces.

The reinforcing pad 62 is positioned on the hand cover [0 so as to overlie the front surfaces of the finger, palm and thumb portions thereof, and is detachably secured to the hand covering by means of metallic clips, such as It. The reinforcing pad may be removed and repaired or replaced when it becomes worn or otherwise unserviceable while the hand covering II], which is subjected to relatively little wear, as compared with the reinforcing pad 62, remains in service.

It will be noted that the staples 70 extend through the reinforcing pad only while the front surfaces of the hand covering 10 are interposed between the bent end portions of the staples and the hand of the wearer. With such a construction, the hand of the wearer is protected in the event the bent end portions of the staples open.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hand protector comprising a finger sheath, a thumb sheath spaced from said finger sheath, a palm piece secured to the front portions of said finger sheath and said thumb sheath with the seams projecting outwardly from the plane of said palm piece, said palm piece having a centrally disposed outwardly projecting tuck extend ing substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said finger sheath, a gauntlet spaced from said finger sheath, and a knuckle piece secured to the rear portions of said finger sheath and said gauntlet, said knuckle piece having an outwardly projecting tuck extending diagonally between said finger sheath and said gauntlet, said palm piece adapted to flex inwardly toward said knuckle piece when said thumb sheath is folded toward the plane of said finger sheath.

2. A hand protector comprising, in combination, a hand covering including a finger sheath,

a thumb sheath spaced from said finger sheath, a palm piece secured to the front portions of said finger sheath and said thumb sheath with the seams projecting outwardly from the plane of said palm piece, said palm piece having a centrally disposed outwardly projecting tuck extending substantially parallel with'the longitudinal axis of said finger sheath, a gauntlet spaced from said finger sheath, and a knuckle piece flexibly interconnecting the rear portions of said finger sheath and said gauntlet, said knuckle piece having an outwardly projecting tuck extending substantially perpendicular to the said aXis of said finger sheath, said palm piece adapted to fiex inwardly toward said knuckle piece when said thumb sheath is folded toward the plane of said finger sheath, pad means reinforcing the front surfaces of said finger sheath, said palm piece and said thumb sheath, and means releasably securing said pad means to said hand covering.

3. A hand protector comprising, in combination, a pair of fingered sheaths, a thumb sheath spaced from said finger sheaths, a palm piece secured to the front portions of said finger sheaths and said thumb sheath with the seams projecting outwardly from the plane of said palm piece, said palm piece having a centrally disposed outwardly projecting tuck extending substantially parallel with the axes of said finger sheaths, a gauntlet spaced from said finger sheaths, and a knuckle piece secured to the rear portion of said finger sheaths and said gauntlet, said knuckle piece having an outwardly projecting tuck extending diagonally between one of said finger sheaths and said gauntlet, said palm piece adapted to fiex inwardly toward said knuckle piece when said thumb sheath is folded toward the plane of said finger sheaths.

4. A hand protector comprising a pair of finger sheaths, a thumb sheath spaced from said finger sheaths, a palm piece secured to the front portions of said finger sheaths and said thumb sheath, said palm piece adapted to flex inwardly as said thumb sheath and said finger sheaths are folded toward a common plane, a gauntlet spaced from said finger sheaths, a knuckle piece flexibly interconnecting the rear portions of said finger sheaths and said gauntlet, said knuckle piece having an outwardly projecting tuck extending substantially perpendicular to the axes of said finger sheaths, and means for reinforcing the front surfaces of said finger sheaths, said palm piece, and said thumb sheath, said last-mentioned means comprising a base piece, a plurality of lugs flexibly connected in spaced side-by-side relationship and secured to the front surface of said base piece in spaced rows, and a plurality of reinforcing pieces secured to said base piece between said rows, said reinforcing pieces being of substantially the same thickness as said lugs, and means for releasably securing said base piece to said hand protector.

ROY J. DU CHENE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 174,052 Yeaman Feb. 22, 1876 237,524 Haight et al. Feb. 8, 1881 689,558 Meyers Dec. 24, 1901 1,358,791 Seely Nov. 16, 1920 2 025,357 Pagan Dec. 24, 1935 2,051,077 Dowdall Aug. 18, 1936 2136,413 Charney Nov. 15, 1938 2,524,979 Kimbrell Oct. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 988,994 France Apr. 14, 1949 

